Election Day

Wow, what a wild ride the past 18 months have been, huh? When we consider all that has happened over that time, it’s easy to look at today, Election Day, and feel relief that it’s over. Ironically, the title of the song we’re singing this weekend best describes where we are in this process.

The End of the Beginning

No matter how things turn out tonight, I believe we need to remain at a constant state of readiness. I was having a discussion last week with some of the other singers and musicians from my church, and the topic of Joe Biden’s comments about Obama being “tested” by some kind of world crisis if he wins. Then I stated that it seems that every 8 years, shortly after a new President has taken office, our country has been victimized by terrorism. In 1993, only 5 weeks into Bill Clinton’s tenure in the White House, the World Trade Center was the target of a terrorist attack. 8 years later, 8 months into George W. Bush’s run, the world changed forever on the day simply known as September 11.

No matter who wins today, we need to be on guard. If things don’t turn out the way you hope and pray they would, we’re still Americans, and we must work together. We need each other. I still believe that there is more we have in common than that which separates us. We just focus on our differences.

When the towers fell on that day, I remember thinking that those fleeing the debris were no longer black, white or brown, but all were gray…covered in ash. Before the dust had settled, we were all red, white and blue.

I’ll close this post with this video. Listen to the words of this timeless and familiar song, and let them echo in your heart. Listen to the words of the prayer at the end. I know there are some partisan photos at the end of the video, which actually seem to contradict the theme of this post. But I have no control over that. But if you can put that aside and simply receive these words, I think your heart will be moved.